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Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV is an anime prequel film to the 15th entry in the earth-shattering popularFinal Fantasy series, directed by Takashi Nozue and released in 2016. Writing credits are by Takashi Hasegawa. Hajime Tabata and Shinji Hashimoto served as producers. Its score was composed by John R. Graham.

Its story takes place during the events of the game's first chapter, and focuses on the king of Lucis, Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII, Nyx Ulric of the titular elite guard and Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret of Tenebrae. The Kingsglaive share Regis's magic to defend the kingdom of Lucis and its crystal from the invading empire of Niflheim. Faced with detrimental conflict, Regis accepts a ceasefire with Niflheim: as part of this treaty, his son Noctis must marry Lunafreya, whose home Niflheim invaded 12 years earlier in hopes of assassinating the Lucian family. However, this is all part of Niflheim's Evil Plan to invade Insomnia and steal the Lucian Power Crystal for world domination.

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Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV contains examples of:

All According to Plan: Ardyn says it almost word-for-word while discussing how smoothly the plan to capture Lucis's Power Crystal and bring down Insomnia went, with Aldercapt grimly agreeing.

All for Nothing: When Niflheim declares a ceasefire against Lucis, Crowe says this trope verbatim about the fighting the Kingsglaive did.

All Myths Are True: Nyx dismisses the legend of the Old Wall as a bedtime story when Lunafreya tells him the Ring of the Lucii has the power to command it. He proves himself wrong in the movie's climax, where he bargains with the spirits of the old kings to borrow its power.

All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Niflheim leads an invasion of Insomnia under the guise of a peace treaty signing between the empire and Lucis as part of Aldercapt's Evil Plan to steal the Lucian crystal. The city quickly falls to Niflheim's assault.

Antagonist Title: Most of the titular guard turn out to be traitors to Lucis, although another guard—Libertus—later pulls a HeelFace Turn and sides with Nyx near the end of the film. Their commander Drautos is actually General Glauca, Supreme Commander of the Niflheim army, and also the one responsible for the deaths of King Regis and (indirectly) Nyx.

Anyone Can Die: At the start of the film, Queen Sylva gets killed by Glauca before Ravus's eyes. Then, Lazarus kills Crowe during her escort mission. During the Niflheim invasion, Regis and the ruling council and most of the Kingsglaive members including Lazarus and the turncoats are killed. Then there's also Nyx's death at the end of the film.

Attack Its Weak Point: The Daemons fielded by Niflheim have an obvious core glowing red on their chest, implying it's their weak point. The problem is, these monsters are skyscraper-sized, so there's next to nothing that can dent them. Fortunately, the animated statues of the previous Lucian kings are equally gigantic and have enough strength to crush the cores, and they kill off a number of Daemons this way during the movie's climax.

The Bad Guy Wins: Towards the end of the film, Niflheim successfully destroys Insomnia and steals Lucis's Crystal. That said, Luna survives the empire's assault and goes into exile, carrying with her the Ring of the Lucii so she can give it to Noctis.

Bargain with Heaven: Nyx manages to pull one off with the past Kings of Lucis, in order to obtain the power needed to hold off General Glauca and stall the Niflheim invasion long enough for Libertus and Luna to get to the border. While he is granted immense magical powers, he will die by sunrise.

Batman Gambit: Niflheim's conquest of Insomnia invariably depended on a complex chain of events that ultimately leave the king and crystal unguarded, that somehow hinged on Nyx's reaction to Crowe's death and interaction with Luna, and could have gone wrong at any point. The fact that they have numerous moles in Insomnia and among the Glaives helped.

Behemoth Battle: During the climax, Nyx uses the Ring's power to animate stories-tall statues of the previous Lucian kings, pitting them against Niflheim's equally towering Daemons rampaging through the city.

The Berserker: The statue wielding the Mace of the Fierce is hardly phased when a Niflheim warship blasts a hole through its shoulder. Instead, it turns its attention to the incoming fleet and attempts to deal as much damage before crashing down.

Big Entrance: The sight of a small fleet of Niflheim transport ships towing a mountain-sized monster covered in smoke in the opening is enough to put the glaives on alert, more so when said monster begins to move and trash the ships that carried it to the field, before proceeding to snuff out the firestorm that Crowe's team had so much trouble conjuring.

Bittersweet Ending: Libertus and Luna successfully escape Lucis alive and Glauca is defeated, but not without a great cost: Insomnia is destroyed; Sylva, Regis and his ruling council, and the Kingsglaive are killed with many more dying in the city's destruction; Libertus is the Sole Survivor of the Kingsglaive; and Niflheim escapes with the Lucian Crystal.

Body Horror: As the climax's fight progresses, Nyx's body starts to get riddled with Volcanic Veins as a sign of the Lucii's power eating away at him. By the end of the fight, most of his body is burnt and he has lived through two spontaneous combustions, only to die anyway due to the pact with the Lucii. As we find out in Final Fantasy XV's ending, this is a side effect of using the power of the Lucian kings to its fullest extent, as Noctis ends up with similar burns as he performs his Heroic Sacrifice.

Broken Pedestal: Drautos becomes this to Nyx when the latter finds out that Drautos would do anything to regain freedom for his hometown, even if it meant betraying Lucis.

Brought Down to Badass: All magic in Lucis stems from the royal family and his bond with the crystal and the Ring of the Lucii. When Regis dies, the bond between him and every person he had granted magic to breaks, with no other royal in the area to reforge the bonds. This reduces all of the Kingsglaive to their natural abilities, which can still be pretty impressive.

Bystander Syndrome: The old kings of Lucis are largely uncaring of whether or not Insomnia falls, as they focus on the greater scope of the future, and do not take kindly to Nyx entering their realm, pleading for them to do something about Niflheim's invasion. This changes when Nyx calls them out on it and shows them that he's ready to stake his life for the future.

Wendee Lee voices Queen Sylva, though it's just her shouting "Ravus!" in the prologue.

Jamieson Price and Kyle Hebert are among the credited voice actors for the unnamed Glaives who mostly shout and grunt through the movie. The former's baritone is recognizable in the Glaive who gets stabbed in the back, but lives long enough to destroy a Niflheim warship's reactor.

Lex Lang just so happens to be the Niflheim officer who utters in a harsh tenor "Release the Daemon!".

Kirk Thornton voices the newscaster announcing the peace treaty between Niflheim and Lucis.

Ray Chase, Adam Croasdell, Chris Parson and Robbie Daymond all reprise their roles as Noctis, Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto in The Stinger.

Car Fu: Libertis runs Drautos over with his car, revealing him to secretly be General Glauca.

Color Failure: Ultros turns completely white when impaled on top of a spire. Funnily enough, it doesn't die there and is last seen still screaming as the spire collapses and it falls down with it.

Complexity Addiction: The Empire's entire invasion plan in a nutshell. First, offer a peace treaty. Second, kidnap Luna. Third, lure her bodyguard to a specific location, then kill the bodyguard and dump the body somewhere conspicuous. Fourth, assume the body will be discovered before the invasion. Fifth, assume someone notices something amiss as her place of death is nowhere near her assigned mission location. Sixth, assume the Kingsglaives sent to rescue Lunafreya will know where to look. Seventh, place a still respected royalty of still-exist kingdom in your invasion fleet (putting her of anti-air as well as monsters in their cargo). Seventh, make sure the subverted Kingsglaive members are included in the rescue attempt. Eighth, place their emperor, acting chancellor, and the empire's most competent and senior ruling bureucrats in the heart of the enemy capital, right in the middle of renewed hostilities. Finally, begin the invasion and enact the plan to steal the crystal. Spiriting Emperor Aldercapt and Ardyn (and anyone else, if there IS any) away safely seemed to rely on dumb luck on their part, if steps number 4 and 5 worked at all. They should have invaded right away (or at least, order Turncoat Glaives to sabotage important defense mechanisms and/or incapacitate defenders, particularly loyal glaives) as by then they are less trustworthy then before, seeing as they broke their promise of peace. Well if they use simpler plan, it wouldn't make good film or at least as make it far shorter story.

Darkest Hour: Some time after escaping the combined forces of the Niflheim and the traitorous Glaives, Nyx and Luna head out to the extraction point designated by Drautos in hopes of evacuating. Instead, Nyx gets grievously injured, and the culprits behind the weakening of Insomnia's defences reveal themselves, ready to take away the Ring that Nyx and Luna tried so hard to keep safe. Insomnia is also about to be razed with the unleashing of the Daemons.

Glauca: It's over. The Daemons are unleashed. Lucis has fallen. Surrender the ring.

Defeating the Undefeatable: Glauca is the most powerful knight of Niflheim and has never been defeated by anyone until the end of the film, where Nyx uses the Ring of the Lucii to empower himself and finally take Glauca down.

Died Standing Up: Subverted; after Glauca runs Regis through with his sword, he spends his last breath trying to keep his composure and becomes motionless. His corpse keeps standing up for a few seconds before Glauca mercilessly shoves it to the floor.

Dies Wide Open: Crowe's eyes remain open after her death. Regis also leaves his eyes open when Glauca kills him.

Disney Villain Death: The Cerberus that corners Nyx and Libertus during the opening battle falls into a bottomless chasm following the landslide created by the Daemon's projectile barrage.

Distant Prologue: The film opens 12 years before the events of the film with Niflheim's invasion of Tenebrae.

Doesn't Trust Those Guys: Regis and the Lucian council give off this vibe when the peace treaty is offered, but even more so when the signing ceremony takes place. The tension in the room is very austere with each side giving icy glares at each other. It ultimately culminates in a mexican standoff between Aldercapts imperial escorts against Regis and the Lucian High Council.

Sylva (Ravus and Luna's mother) gets killed by Glauca during Niflheim's invasion of Tenebrae as seen in the Distant Prologue.

Crowe does not get mentioned at all in the game, since she gets murdered by Lazarus here.

The Niflheim invasion of Insomnia dooms a lot of characters, including Regis, Clarus, the Lucian Council, and the Kingsglaive save for Libertus.

Glauca does not appear in XV except in flashbacks to the film, and Ravus being promoted to supreme commander heavily implies that Glauca perished in his fight with Nyx.

Doomed Hometown: At the beginning, Niflheim invades Tenebrae, Luna's home country. Also, by the end of the film, Insomnia falls, setting up the scenario for Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV and the main game.

Downer Beginning: The film begins with the invasion of Tenebrae and the death of Queen Sylva at the hands of Glauca.

Dynamic Entry: The sword-wielding statue of a Lucian king makes its presence known by warping miles away from its resting place, to right next to a Daemon overlooking Nyx and Glauca's fight. The sheer impact of the teleportation is enough to create a miles-wide shockwave that stuns the Daemon, and the statue proceeds to bifurcate the building Nyx and Glauca are in, forcing them to fight as the skyscraper collapses.

11th-Hour Superpower: An interesting case in the climax where Nyx had been Brought Down to Badass a few scenes prior due to Regis's death depriving the Kingsglaive of their signature abilities; he uses the Ring of the Lucii to regain those powers in a buffed state, enough to contend with Glauca's raw strength. This, however, also turns out to be a case of Power at a Price, as Nyx eventually dies from borrowing the Ring's power.

Establishing Character Moment: During the opening battle, Nyx makes his first appearance killing a monster to rescue Pelna and his allies and orders them to regroup with the other soldiers, before engaging several more creatures on his own.

Nyx finds it hard to stomach the fact that his commander Drautos and Glauca are the same person, and that he is largely responsible for the betrayals leading to Insomnia's downfall.

Nyx:(to Drautos) How could you serve the empire, after everything they did?

Subverted with Drautos, who states to Nyx that he feels betrayed by Regis, whom he feels has abandoned Glaives' homelands just to save himself, but at the same time talks with disdain about the king he served.

Drautos: I do not fault them for taking what was given. I fault the man who gave it. The man who cowered behind his wall and abandoned us to save his throne and his son. [Later] For the honor of my home, I fought and killed under a king I loathed. And still he betrayed me. He betrayed us all.

The Exile: By the end of the film, Luna safely escapes from Insomnia and is on the move to Altissia.

During the Niflheim invasion, Glauca kills Clarus in front of Regis, and does the same to the latter in front of Nyx and Luna.

Foregone Conclusion: This movie is a direct prequel to Final Fantasy XV, but from the game's beginning (as well as associated pre-release footage), we already know that: Niflheim destroysInsomnia and steals the Lucian crystal; Luna escapes to Altissia with the Ring of the Lucii; Ravus gets his arm burned and has it replaced with a prosthetic; and Noctis and his party get stranded when their car breaks down. The main purpose of Kingsglaive is to explain how these plot points from the game happened.

Drautos states to Nyx that his strength only comes from the king, and that he is "nothing without the king". As soon as Glauca slays Regis, Nyx and the rest of the glaives lose their magical powers and the former has to deal with his and Luna's pursuers with raw physical skill.

"For hearth and home!" The homes of the Kingsglaive members are outside of Insomnia, so the minute Regis agrees to relinquish those territories to Niflheim, most of the Glaive turn traitor.

Several scenes linger on the various monumental statues of the previous kings of Lucis, if only to give an eyeful of the scenery. They're actually an approximate representation of the spirits sealed in the Ring of the Lucii, and the statues themselves are brought to life in the film's final battle. They're also the looming silhouettes presented on the North American cover of the game.

Nyx uses the powers of the past Lucian kings to fight Glauca at the cost of his own life. Guess what happens to Noctis at the end of XV?

From Bad to Worse: If conquering Tenebrae wasn't bad enough, Niflheim invades and destroys Insomnia, the Glaive turn on Regis en masse and are killed in the process along with Regis, and Aldercapt and Ardyn steal the Lucian crystal.

From Dress to Dressing: After the official peace treaty signation goes wrong, Princess Lunafreya rips a part of her skirt to treat King Regis' wounds.

Go Out with a Smile: At the end of the film, Nyx smiles as his death approaches while waiting for the sunrise.

HeelFace Turn: Libertus comes to his senses and helps Luna escape from Insomnia towards the end of the movie. This is after going through a FaceHeel Turn and siding with rebels following Crowe's death.

The Hero Dies: Nyx is the main protagonist of the film and dies after using of the Ring of the Lucii to hold off Glauca, with XV to go.

Heroic BSoD: Nyx and Libertus go through a brief one when Crowe is killed.

Heroic RRoD: At the end of the film, Nyx uses the Ring of the Lucii to defeat Glauca, but it greatly drains his lifespan.

Hour of Power: Nyx convinces the past Kings of Lucis to loan him the power of the ring for one night - at the cost of his life.

I Got You Covered: While in Nyx and Luna are knee deep in a car chase trying to escape gunfire from a ship carrying a few traitorous Glaives, Petra Fortis, the guard who taunted Nyx earlier in the movie, barges in with a truck and a gun, and provides enough cover for the pair to escape.

During the climactic battle, the sword-wielding statue throws its sword in the distance at the the Niflheim warships and warps away, only to reappear with enough momentum to nail a Daemon through its core, causing a massive explosion that lits up the sky.

Finally, Nyx defeats Glauca by driving his kukri through the general's chest, just as the above mentioned statue drives its fist through the last Daemon's core.

In the opening, Regis pulls Lunafreya with him while carrying Noctis as they flee Niflheim's forces. Lunafreya realizes Regis can't run fast enough with her in tow and lets go of his hand, staying behind so that he and Noctis can escape.

Years later, Lunafreya pulls an aged and weakened Regis with her as they flee from Glauca. Regis, having entrusted Lunafreya with the task of passing on the Ring of Lucii to Noctis, lets go of her hand. He creates a magic barrier to keep Lunafreya and Nyx from stopping him, while wishing Lunafreya the best.

Interservice Rivalry: The Lucis Army, which is composed of locals, dislikes the Kingsglaive, which is composed of refugees. Many of the Kingsglaive in turn dislike the army for the fact that the Kingsglaive are the ones serving on the front lines while they guard a peaceful city behind a magical barrier.

Kill Em All: Towards the end, Regis and his ruling council, and the titular guards perish during Niflheim's invasion of Insomnia; Nyx is the last one to die at the end after he defeats Glauca. The only one in the poster who survives is Luna. Libertis is the only surviving Kingsguard. Only three other named characters outside a cameo of the party from the actual game in the Stinger survive the film.

The Kingslayer: Glauca attempts to kill Regis and Noctis during the prologue as part of Niflheim's surprise attack on Tenebrae, and murders Queen Sylva along the way. Twelve years later, Glauca succeeds in killing Regis.

Regis attempts to do this against Glauca after he orders Nyx to escort Luna to safety. Unfortunately for Regis, Glauca runs him through with his sword before Nyx and Luna's eyes.

At the end of the film, Nyx orders Libertus to take Luna to safety before he makes a final stand against Glauca.

Living Statue: Several skyscraper-sized statues of the previous Lucian kings make up Insomnia's legendary defense mechanism known as the "Old Wall", and are animated by the power of the Ring of the Lucii. They're also able to use the Lucian royal family's signature Warp Strike to devastating effect.

The Magic Versus Technology War: The magic using Kingdom of Lucis versus the high tech empire of Niflheim. Niflheim has the advantage because all of Lucis' magic comes from one source while Niflheim's weaponry can be mass produced.

When Ravus puts on the Ring of the Lucii during the Niflheim invasion, the ring rejects him and promptly burns his arm. Lazarus is similarly immolated when tricked by Lunafreya in putting on the Ring.

At the end of the film, Nyx spontaneously combusts twice as a sign of his powers letting him down as dawn approaches, though he manages to warp away and shrug off the fire both times.

Mexican Standoff: During the treaty signing ceremony, an explosion goes off according to Aldercapt's plan, and both Niflheim and Lucis' leaderships start pointing their weapons at each other, with Regis taking the cake by summoning his Royal Arms. The standoff is only broken when the Magitek soldiers crash through the window and start gunning down the Lucian dignitaries, with Aldercapt walking out without so much as looking back at Regis, who is forced into the defensive.

Mr. Fanservice: Nyx, who was specifically modelled after a French male model.

The "Daemon" that the Niflheim military sets loose in the opening battle is the Diamond Weapon from Final Fantasy VII in all but name.note The soundtrack even names the piece used during its scene as "Diamond Weapon"

The party on the eve of the treaty-signing is taken directly from old Versus XIII concepts; complete with "Somnus" playing in the background, and Nyx serving for Noctis's substitute when he converses with Luna under the painting of Etro.

Non-Indicative Name: The Old Wall that is supposed to protect Insomnia in times of dire crises is not a wall per se. It's actually the statues of the deceased Lucian kings being brought to life to repel the invaders, so when Ardyn praises "the might of the Old Wall", he's referring to these titanic statues.

Nyx, first when Pelna is about to be lured into a trap while rescuing Luna, and later when Glauca kills Regis.

Regis when he realizes that Niflheim's peace treaty turns out to be a trap and when Glauca kills Clarus.

Ravus when Glauca kills Queen Sylva and when the Ring of the Lucii rejects him.

Luna when Glauca kills Regis before her eyes.

Only the Chosen May Wield: Only those of the royal bloodline of Lucis can wield the Ring of the Lucii and its powers, as Ravus and Lazarus found out the hard way. The sole exception, Nyx, has to make a Bargain with Heaven to be allowed a one-time use of its power, which costs him his life.

Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Moments before signing the peace treaty, Regis and Aldercapt get into a discussion on how justice should be served when a thief appears at the most inopportune timing. Both sides are aware that Lunafreya's abduction (and baiting) is what's being discussed, and both sides are already ready to hold each other at gunpoint, treaty signing be damned.

There's even billboards advertising Japan Airlines in one of the scenes in the film.

Uniqlo stores are visible in one scene in the film.

Also you can see the Beats headphone brand logo in the background of one scene.

Cups of Nissin instant noodles can be seen in the film.

Taito arcade machines are visible in one scene of the film.

Ray of Hope Ending: Despite the Bittersweet Ending, Noctis and Luna are safe and we know that we can now be set up for XV. Think of the action scenes in the game such as Noctis and his friends fighting to liberate Lucis and you'll be reminded that the kingdom's most desperate hopes will come true as Noctis reclaims the throne to end Ardyn's tyranny.

Rule of Symbolism: The conversation between Regis and Aldercapt, involving thieves and justice.

Sadistic Choice: After putting on the Ring of the Lucii in a desperate attempt to stop General Glauca from killing Lunafreya, Libertus and himself, and the spirit of King Regis vouches for Nyx and how his actions will play a major role in deciding the future, the other Kings of Lucis decide they will grant Nyx the boon of power from the Ring of the Lucii. However, because he is not of Royal blood, he will have to make a choice of sacrificing either Lunafreya (his current charge of protection) or Libertus (his best friend). Nyx rejects the offer and instead chooses to Take a Third Option, offering his own life.

Saved by Canon: Since this film is a prequel to Final Fantasy XV, we already know that:

Luna and Ravus escape Insomnia's destruction by the end of the film.

Aldercapt and Ardyn also survive Insomnia's destruction after stealing the Lucian Crystal.

Noctis, Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto don't die when Insomnia is destroyed, since they are driving to Altissia for Noctis's wedding.

Scenery Gorn: Insomnia's destruction at the hands of Niflheim during the climax has the entire city set ablaze by the Daemons indiscriminately bombarding the surrounding areas. The chaos is then amped up when Nyx summons the Old Wall's warrior statues, adding Niflheim warships, buildings and Daemons to the destructible items list.

Sequel Hook: Given that this film is about the events leading to Final Fantasy XV, this is a given. The end of the film sees Luna escaping to Altissia with the Ring of the Lucii, Insomnia burning down, and Noctis and his party's car breaking down on their way to Noctis's wedding.

Shadow Archetype: By the end of the film, it becomes clear that Drautos is one to Nyx: both are elite soldiers of Lucis who originated from the lands outside of Insomnia that were conquered by Niflheim. But while Nyx grimly accepted Regis's decision to give up all territories save for the capital city and remained loyal to him until the bitter end, Drautos turns out to have been much less accepting of it and secretly plotted against the king by manipulating the Kingsglaive and a few anti-peace sympathizers, along with outright appearing as the Niflheim general Glauca.

When Regis tries to shield Glauca's attack, he asks, "what more would you take from me?". In response, Glauca chops off Regis's fingers, which results in the latter losing his ring.

When Glauca asks Nyx how he is going to defend Insomnia without a wall to protect it, Nyx activates the legendary Old Wall, i.e., awaken the titanic statues of the old Lucian kings.

Throwing Off the Disability: Libertus spends most of the movie walking on crutches and popping painkillers after getting his leg broken when some rubble fell on him during the prologue. After realizing that the anti-treaty faction he'd joined up with were selling out to the empire in their own way, he throws away both crutches and pills and appears to be able to function perfectly well without them.

Time Stands Still: Time completely stops as one puts on the Ring of the Lucii, given they are transported to another dimension to be judged by the previous kings of Lucis.

Too Dumb to Live: Lazarus learns that the Ring of the Lucii's wearer will grant them great power. But after ignoring Luna's warnings that the ring's power is too much for him to handle, Lazarus puts the ring on anyway and gets immolated before suffering a Disney Villain Death for his troubles.

Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Regis has the values of a mature man: wise, courageous, loyal, a loving father to his son and a devoted leader to his people. His last act alive was pulling off a heroic sacrifice so that Luna and Nyx could escape.

"How long will you do nothing whilst Insomnia burns? Old or New or whatever it is, summon your Wall!"

The Worf Effect: When Nyx and Luna reach the treaty room where Glauca just inflicted a Fingore on Regis, Nyx attempts to fight off Glauca, but gets completely schooled in the process, what with the general nonchalantly parrying every move and even catching Nyx mid-teleportation.

Wrecked Weapon: The statue wielding the Blade of the Mystic breaks its sword against the final Daemon, but rather than stop there, it lets go of the handle and engages the behemoth in a fistfight. The statue wins.

You Shall Not Pass!: Regis puts up a forcefield around himself and Glauca to allow Luna and Nyx to escape unharmed before Regis is killed.

You're Nothing Without Your Phlebotinum: Early on, Nyx is told that all his power is on loan from the king, which is true to an extent - when the king dies, the loss of Regis' magic reduces Nyx's options considerably. But he's still badass enough to stay alive long enough to gain magic directly from the Ring of the Lucii.

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